Quick post before i embark on the Eurostar. If you have time to spare while waiting for the train back to ‘the continent’ at Saint Pancras station, there’s an exhibition of Magnum photographer Chris Steele-Perkins a five minute walk away from the station. England, My England is a collection of the pictures Steele-Perkins has taken over the past 40 years. Some are commissions, others are personal works or long-term social projects. Margaret Thatcher in full-’80s bloom and bouffant is smiling to the press, members of the National Front movement flash their pride of being white, there are also Teddy Boys of the late 1970s, obese male strippers, old people living/dying alone, drags, immigrants, hunters, and picnics. Simple, striking, sometimes absurd images.
© Chris Steele-Perkins, Blackpool Beach, 1982
© Chris Steele-Perkins, Brothers, Red Deer, Croydon, 1976
© Chris Steele-Perkins, Hartlepool. Stuart Lithgo boxing. From the series England, My England,1982
© Chris Steele-Perkins, Blobendales perform at hen party in Essex, 1995
© Chris Steele-Perkins, Exercise class in a poor school in Middelsbrough, 1975
Chris Steele-Perkins, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the Conservative Party Conference. From the series The Pleasure Principle,1985
Chris Steele-Perkins, The Teds. Tongue Tied Danny’s wedding. From the series The Teds,1976
Video interview on World News and commented slideshow on The Guardian.
Chris Steele-Perkins – England My England opens until July 30 at Kings Place Gallery, 300 metres from Kings Cross and St Pancras stations.
Related: Parrworld. The Collection of Martin Parr (Part 2), Parrworld. The Collection of Martin Parr (Part 1) and Martin Parr retrospective: from fish & chips to mass tourism.
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